Individuals who have been subjected to significantly traumatic events, such as sexual or physical assault, military combat experiences, major accidents or even the sudden death of a loved one, can, if certain symptoms present themselves, be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These symptoms include distressing thoughts of the event; nightmares and/or flashbacks; insomnia; anger issues, and avoiding anything which is seen as being a reminder of the event. If you are going through a stress disorder, online doctor service can be helpful to get immediate releaf in this condition.

Understanding PTSD

It is thought that PTSD occurs when an experience is so disturbing to an individual that it disrupts the information processing system within their brain. One of the main functions of this system is to process disturbing experiences by way of mental adaptation. This basically translates as, whenever something unpleasant or disturbing happens to a person, the processing system 'digests' the experience and processes it in the most effective way. This generally means that the appropriate connections are made, while reactions which are deemed unnecessary — such as negative self-talk, harmful emotions and physical sensations — are discarded.

If an experience is too disturbing however, the system can become disrupted and cause the memories associated with it to become stored along with some – or all – of the negative emotions, physical sensations and harmful beliefs. This presents itself as a problem as people's brains are conditioned to use these stored memory 'links' to help interpret and process ways to deal with current experiences. Needless to say, having an unprocessed memory 'shorting the circuit' can cause negative emotions and sensations to emerge and affect an individual's perception of current events without warning. In short, this what makes it difficult for people with PTSD to leave their distressing memories behind. To them, the past and the present are often one and the same.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Increasing numbers of psychiatric professionals are now opting to send themselves on EMDR training courses as they believe this particular form of treatment is the best way to help patients suffering with symptoms of PTSD. The basic premise of EMDR is that the intensity of feelings associated with a particularly traumatic memory can be reduced - or sometimes even eliminated - by using specific eye movements. When carried out by a therapist who has undertaken a suitable EMDR training course, this form of treatment can adjust and/or restore the way a patient’s brain functions, thereby enabling them to eventually address and override their mental trauma issues. It is often the case that patients who undertake successful EMDR treatment end up being able to recall their memories without experiencing the same degree of psychological distress they did before the treatment began.

EMDR therapy has been declared an effective form of trauma treatment by everyone from the American Psychiatric Association to the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies so it is fair to say getting on an EMDR course is an unequivocal step in the right direction for any conscientious psychiatric professional.

About the author – Bo Heamyan blogs regularly about twenty-first century health concerns and has written extensively about the merits of EMDR therapy for various industry leading websites, including EMDRworks.org